Posted on 12/20/2009 3:47:34 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for speed, but there really isnt one number to give, as the jet would always give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own individual high speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in order. Lets just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took us to Mach numbers we hadnt previously seen.
So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird? This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following.
I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield.
Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the fieldyet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldnt see it. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we werent really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass.
Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didnt say a word for those next 14 minutes. After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadets hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of breathtaking very well that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach.
As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadnt spoken a word since the pass. Finally, Walter looked at me and said, One hundred fifty-six knots. What did you see? Trying to find my voice, I stammered, One hundred fifty-two. We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, Dont ever do that to me again! And I never did.
A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officers club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, It was probably just a routine low approach; theyre pretty impressive in that plane. Impressive indeed.
Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most requested stories. Its ironic that people are interested in how slow the worlds fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, its always a good idea to keep that cross-check up
and keep your Mach up, too.
I saw the SR 71 a number of times at the Toronto Air Show. Easily the lowdest engines of any aircraft that participated.
I live about 6 miles west of the base, you could hear it out there when they were playing with the afterburners.
Now the B1s are moved out and I find that I miss that sound.
After I was discharged from the Marine Corp in ‘68 I got an opportunity to be an Air Traffic Controller with the Air National Guard as I was a private pilot....so I jumped at the chance.
One day, another controller in the squadron ID’d a “Sled” overhead and we all watched the scopes as the fastest thing we would ever see zoomed through our controlled sectors....I thought at the time that this was a big deal and that I was privileged to be where I was. (The Northern Oregon Coast)
BTW I really appreciate this thread.....thanks OP
Loudest fn noise Ive ever experienced, felt like my guts were going to turn to jelly.
I had the same glorious experience when a B-1B did a flyby at a local airshow. The first pass was at high subsonic, with the wings folded back. The second was low and slow, and it was really both.
The departure started out low and slow. Then the pilot lit the afterburners and swept the wings back. That's when the noise really hit, including a pressure wave you could feel but not hear. He didn't go vertical for long, but just became a tiny black dot that vanished on the horizon.
I jumped around like a maniac, yelling, screaming, and smiling. I knew nobody could hear me, but I figured they knew I must have been happy. The sound of freedom always does that to me.
Maybe not, if the aiframe is warm enough. The picture on I believe post 13 does have what appears to be fuel streaming off the upper wing surface. My guess is that was a photo run, not enough Mach (mumble) time to heat up the airframe to seal up the tanks.
I was at that show when that happened.
I was at that show when that happened.
I believe Maj. Shul made that landing as well. I recall his telling attendees of one of his talks in Carson City (during the Reno Air Races) of a forced stop-over in Colorado Springs as a result of a mid-flight equipment failure on their SR-71. They had come up out of Beale, fueled over Nevada and then discovered a problem. First runway where they could put down was Colo. Springs, as the SR-71 takes a whole lot of room to come down from altitude.
Maj. Shul said that the Colo. Springs AFB laid out the red carpet for them - so much so that they had to request on the ground frequency that folks stop offering any and all help and just tell them a) where to park and b) to get a security detail up around the bird.
They were so blown away by the reception they got from the USAF personnel and townspeople of Colorado Springs that they decided to give folks a nice fly-by on the way out... “just to make sure everything was working OK before going up to altitude...”
The only other SR-71 low speed story I know of is one I witnessed while setting on the taxi way at Kadena. We were holding for an SR-71 to land before we could take off (C-141) for an in country mission. As the SR-71 hit the runway and deployed it veared off the runway. They closed the airfield and sent us back to crew rest.
No. As the skin of the aircraft heats up, it expands, closing off those areas of fuel leakage.
Walt Watson. A SR-71 second seater was a guest at my sons wedding a few years back. He was introduced to me as Walt. But I’ve forgotten his last name. Guess I’ll have to check it out.
Thank you! What a story!! (Two of the great regrets of my life are that I never saw a SR-71 in fight, and that I have never seen a shuttle launch...)
I don't know if this is still the case, but years ago at the museum @ Wright Patterson AFB, the display had an SR-71 underneath the wing of a B-52. Sitting by itself, the SR-71 is a pretty big plane, but it just looks so small compared to the B-52! One other thing I noticed... I was amazed at just how little passenger space there is inside a B-52, given its size!
Mark
I know. 40 years ago they stuffed a crew of ten in there. Today, I think it's four.
With sliderules, T-Squares, and drafting machines!
Mark
So... how fast would it fly?
I used to shoot with a guy who was a member of a B-52 aircrew during Viet Nam. He told this story about how he was on the lower flight deck one morning as they were taxiing to the runway when the explosive bolts blew his ejection hatch off, and he was strapped into his ejection seat, just waiting to be launched right into the tarmac! He said that he had to change his flight suit.
Mark
You've also got their interceptor cousin, the YF-12. I've walked under that little lady and stroked her belly. Long time ago though.
Here is the SR:
And here is the YF-12
They could tell you, but then they'd have to shoot you. Almost literally true "back in the day". Back sometime in '73-'75, one landed at Tinker AFB, with some sort of hydraulics problem. They caught a brake on fire on the landing roll out. Put it in the hanger surrounded by sky cops, fire or no fire. (They had plenty of advanced notice.) Glad I was not Ops duty officer that day. OTOH, it would have been kinda cool. I did talk with the guy who was.
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